Musicians sue Universal Music for lost royalties

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than a dozen recording artists,
including the estates of Count Basie and Benny Goodman, sued
Universal Music on Friday, saying they had been cheated out of
more than $6 million in royalties since 1998.

The artists, many of whom signed with recording companies
that were later bought by Universal, sued the world's largest
music label for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty
in a lawsuit filed in New York State Court.

In a statement, Universal, which is owned by the French
company Vivendi, denied the allegations.

"We believe that these claims are baseless, and we are
confident that we will prevail in court," the company said.

The lawsuit alleges that Universal, which is required to
submit at least biannual reports of sales and earnings for each
artist, provided false information throughout the accounting
period of May 1999 through February 2007.

Universal has not provided all records needed to calculate
the losses, but the company "systematically underpaid
royalties" since 1998, the lawsuit said.

"Despite a relationship based on trust and manifold
contractual obligations, and despite the fact that defendants
realized an overwhelming windfall to both its finances and
reputation as a result of this relationship," Universal has
"utterly failed" to meet their obligations, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also accuses Universal of engaging in
"pervasive and systematic acts of using false statements" to
conceal the complete earnings of the artists.